Benihana - Burlingame, CA

Benihana - Burlingame, CA reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Review summary

1. JD

   JanetD

   San Francisco2 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   My only knock would be that we had to wait a long time even though we had reservations. But, while we waited, they brought around snacks and some delicious punch. So all good!
   

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2. M

   Marco

   San Francisco1 review

   3.0

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 2

   You all should stop having walk ins on busy nights and weekends. I had reservations on Saturday night at 7 pm and had to wait 45 minutes before seated. That’s unacceptable!😡😡
   

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3. E

   Elsie VIP

   San Francisco17 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 3

   Do not expect to sit down anytime near your reservation time, 90 minute wait for everyone, e.g. we sat down at 7:30 pm (had 6 pm reservation). Their reservation system is faulty and not valid. Bad location. Unfortunate because the servers and chefs were awesome but too late for our kids so not enjoyable when ate at 8 pm. Not coming back to this location. Bad management.
   

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4. SN

   SNelson VIP

   San Francisco65 reviews

   2.0

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   Be aware that a reservation just means you’ll get in. The time is not honored and you still have to wait. We had a 6pm reservation and got seated at 7pm.
   

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5. OT

   OpenTable Diner VIP

   San Francisco3 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 1

   We arrived early for a 6 pm reservation but were not seated until 7 pm. They said they were overbooked! Huh? Very disappointing. Doubt I’ll return.
   

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6. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   San Francisco1 review

   3.0

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 4

   Chef wasn’t very friendly or talkative /fin! He also burnt the shrimp appetizers
   

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7. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Philadelphia1 review

   3.0

   Dined 4 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 1

   The food was amazing, but our car got broken into and all of our stuff was stolen.
   

   Benihana - Burlingame, CAResponded 3 days ago

   Dear Guest, We’re deeply sorry to hear about the break-in and theft from your car during your visit. While we’re glad you enjoyed the food, we’re truly sorry that this unfortunate incident overshadowed your experience. Your safety and well-being are incredibly important to us, and we regret any distress this situation caused. Please know that we take security concerns seriously and will review our measures to help prevent such incidents in the future. Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and we hope to provide you with a safer and more enjoyable experience next time. Best regards,
   

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8. S

   Sal VIP

   Chicago14 reviews

   2.0

   Dined 4 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 3

   Feeling so torn about this experience. 5 stars to our attentive server Thomas and to James, our charming and talented chef! We were seated promptly, cocktails flowing, followed by plenty of delicious food!! The end of the night however… Consistent with many OpenTable reviews we walked to our car to discover that the back windshield had been shattered in a burglary attempt. The same exact thing happened to another group in the parking lot at the same time. We were fortunate to have had nothing stolen, but the other group had four roller bags and four work bags with laptops taken from their vehicle. The Burlingame police were fantastic and the manager was apologetic, but they did nothing to compensate us.  When I pointed out that our experience aligned exactly with multiple reviews the manager shrugged his shoulders and walked away. The policeman commented that this was his fifth trip out to this restaurant with the exact same issue and that he had been to the restaurant multiple times already in the month of March. He was on a first basis with the manager! Likely this locals targeted due to the heavy amount of rental cars/proximity to SFO. Hopefully now that STK has acquired Benihana hopefully they will invest in a secure parking lot or mandatory valet parking for this location. The waitstaff and chefs worked their butts off to make us happy and deliver a fantastic experience. It’s a shame to have it all spoiled at the end by a well-known and chronic security issue. Benihana, please solve this so that we may return and enjoy your restaurant again!
   

   Benihana - Burlingame, CAResponded 3 days ago

   Dear Sal, Thank you for sharing your experience and for recognizing Thomas and Chef James for their exceptional service and talent. We’re thrilled you enjoyed the food and overall dining experience. However, we’re deeply sorry to hear about the burglary incident in our parking lot. Your safety and peace of mind are incredibly important to us, and we’re truly sorry this unfortunate event overshadowed your evening. We understand your frustration with the response you received, and your feedback will be shared with our management team to address this serious concern. We appreciate your suggestion and hope to improve security measures soon. We’d love the opportunity to welcome you back for another great experience. Best regards, The Management Team
   

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9. A

   Amanda

   San Francisco2 reviews

   2.0

   Dined 7 days ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 2

   The service and food do not warrant the cost. The quality of food and overall experience has diminished so much over the years - it's disappointing to say the least. Fried rice - one of the reasons people go there - is no longer included with the meal, but is an added extra. The restaurant has 20-30 tables and only 5 chefs making their way around on a very busy Sunday evening. Reservation times are only a suggestion, as you are kept waiting 20+ minutes to be seated and then even longer before you get your first bite of food, e.g., we had a 5:15 reservation and at 6:15 there was still no sign of any food coming our way.
   

   Benihana - Burlingame, CAResponded 6 days ago

   Thanks for the review, Amanda. We're sorry to hear that your experience at Benihana - Burlingame, CA didn't meet your expectations. We understand your disappointment with the changes you've mentioned. We value your feedback and will certainly consider it as we strive to improve our services and offerings. We hope to have the opportunity to serve you again and provide a better dining experience.
   

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10. C

    Charles

    San Francisco10 reviews

    1.0

    Dined on March 9, 2025

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1

    I made reservations for 8 o’clock. We were still waiting in line at 9 o’clock. It was terrible. They didn’t even acknowledge we were even there and I checked in. I kept going up how much longer how much longer and they didn’t even care. We will never go there again
    

    Benihana - Burlingame, CAResponded 7 days ago

    Thanks for visiting us, Charles. We're truly sorry to hear about your recent experience at Benihana - Burlingame, CA. It's clear that we fell short in providing the timely and attentive service that we strive for. We understand how frustrating it must have been for you to wait in line for such a long time, and we apologize for any inconvenience caused. We appreciate your feedback and assure you that we will address this issue to improve our service. We hope you'll give us another chance to provide the exceptional dining experience we're known for. Best regards, The Management Team
    

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